snowtiger87:
I would take out the black patent and subsitute Blackprinz or Caraffa 2. You could also try Midnight Wheat instead of regular chocolate wheat. I agree some Special B can add to the complexity.

I did not care for the Belgian Stout strain that Wyeast came out with. Not very attenuative. Not very "Belgiany" either. I used WLP 550 on my last Belgian Stout.

With the dark malts in the grain bill the dark syrup may get wasted. I would just add some regular table sugar if you want to dry it out a bit.

My last Belgian Stout with a similar starting gravity fermented down to 1.010

rbowers:
Yeah the midnight wheat was something I was considering, available locally. without the black patent will it have enough roasty character to it just from the other grains as the caraffa won't add much? On the plus side it would be awfully smooth with the caraffa 2. Special B I like but need it restrained- my baltic porter had a good dose of it in it and it was overpowering. I'm hoping to have the final gravity around 1.02, maybe a bit less. The sugar just sounded interesting and I thought it would add some more complexity. Still confused on late hopping these type beers- does it come thru at all, and if not, why do it. Right now I am planning on 2oz magnum at 60min to bring it to around 70IBU. Thanks for the suggestions.

erockrph:

--- Quote from: rbowers on April 18, 2013, 06:19:37 PM ---Still confused on late hopping these type beers- does it come thru at all, and if not, why do it. Right now I am planning on 2oz magnum at 60min to bring it to around 70IBU. --- End quote ---

Honestly, your single addition of magnum will be fine in this style. You already have a lot going on from the roast malt and yeast, so no need to muddle things up.

reverseapachemaster:
It really depends on what you are trying to develop in the flavor profile. There are some Belgian stouts that are smoother than the typical stout and that's because they rely on the dehusked grains, dark wheat malts, dark candy sugars, chocolate malt and dark crystal malts for color and flavor. Boulevard's Dark Truth is a good example of this style. Others are more typical of an English/Irish/American stout with more roast character but some special B and/or dark candy sugar to make it more "Belgian" with the help of the yeast. I think the Great Divide version is more roasty but not quite as roasty as the regular Yeti. The regular Yeti is made with a good amount of rye but I'm not sure if it's also in the Belgian variant.

If you decide to go down a more roasty path I would choose a Belgian strain that is lighter on the phenolic character and more into the fruit. For my tastes I find phenolics do not pair well with a lot of roast character. The fruity esters will carry through better and provide the obvious Belgian character. With the smoother variant you could go either way.

HopsHerkules 14.5 % : 2 oz at 60 min- these hops are new to me but I am told very smooth, similar to magnum

Yeast:1.8L Starter of Belgian Ale Yeast (WL550)

Mash at 153F x 60 minMash out to 167F

Ferment 68F x 3 days then raise to 72F till done

I have not used the midnight wheat before. I'm looking for overall very smooth with touches of roast from the Carafa and midnight Wheat. I am forgoing the late hop additions as I don't see a huge point in their presence for this beer. Additional Suggestions?